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Transport (North-West)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his clarification. Obviously, I am going on the figures produced by the local authority. It is fair to say, however, that some local authorities are winners and some losers, and that has been replicated around the country. The Government have argued that the money available covers the scheme, but setting aside the fact that there are winners and losers, there is a shortfall of about £60 million across the country. I have to say that that shortfall is in no small part due to the success of the scheme. We would all agree that it has been a massive success, and people have made use of their free travel. However, estimates of how many extra journeys would be created and how much that would cost have perhaps been too low. I have no doubt that if we decided to extend the scheme to include other forms of public transport or schoolchildren and students, that would be equally successful and increase patronage. The Government's response, however, has been to draw back from the scheme. Hon. Members may not be aware of the change to the scheme that came into force on 1 April, banning the use of free bus passes on certain services unless local authorities foot the bill. That change, which was contained in a statutory instrument, was introduced without proper scrutiny or the opportunity to divide on it. The Liberal Democrats opposed the statutory instrument, and I hope that that will result in the matter being brought back to Parliament for discussion, because the change has meant that local bus services in some areas are no longer available free of charge to pensioners and disabled people. Although the statutory instrument is no doubt intended to exclude coach services, such services often provide the local bus service for pensioners. While I sympathise with the hon. Gentleman, I suggest that we ensure that the scheme is fully funded and covers all local bus services before we talk about extending it to include rail.